Magazine merchandise dispenser



Jan. 3, 1939. F. A. SUNDERHAUF 2,142,534

MAGAZINE MERCHANDISE DISPENSER I mvEN-rog Sunderfiaq 464.,

ATTORNEY Federal 14 Filed July 14, 192's Patented Jan. 3, 1939 UNITED STATES 2,142,534 MAGAZINE LIERCHANDISE DISPENSER.

Frederick A. Sunderhauf, Rutherford, N. 1., assignor to Reynolds Metals Company, Richmond, Va, a corporation of Delaware Application July 14, 1938, Serial No. 219,173

10 Claims.

This invention relates to a new and improved collapsible magazine merchandise dispenser and display stand and particularly to such a display stand which has a main body portion die-cut and die-scored from an integral cardboard blank without wastage of material, and a simple supplemental integral sheet of paper stock arranged rearwardly thereof so that the same provides retaining side walls for the merchandise and functions as an easel.

Heretofore, there have been a great many collapsible 'and non-collapsible merchandise dispenser and display stands suggested but these generally have required complicated die-cutting and die-scoring operations in manufacture, have required a number of component parts, and have been difiicult to assemble.

Therefore, it is an object of my invention to form a collapsible merchandise dispenser and display stand having preferably a plurality of magazines to vhold and display packaged merchandise from a one-piece cardboard integral blank for forming the main body portion and a supplemental magazine side wall rear portion also formed from an integral'blank, the latter portion also functioning as an easel.

It is afurther object of my invention to die-cut and die-score preferably a generally rectangular or square fiat blank to form a main body portion of a' merchandise magazine dispenser so that the said blank can be folded to provide a plurality of elongated front merchandise retaining panels, a plurality ,of-merchandise platforms, a plurality of merchandise magazine rear retaining walls and a placard portion upon which an advertising message may be printed; lt is a further object of my invention to provide for such' a main body portion a supplemental unitary piece of stiff paper stock to be adhesively secured rearwardly of themain body portion and which provides merchandise magazine retaining sidewalls and whichstiffens the display and also functions as an easel, and which preferably will be-formed of agenerally bellows or accordion formation and. will be collapsible. It is a further object of my invention to so diecut and die-score the main body portion that a pluralityof merchandiseplatforms are provided, each of said platforms being formed with a projecting tongue or tab, which tongues or tabs, when the main body portion is properly manipulated, are adapted to project into slots provided in the supplemental rear member. to automatically lock and maintain the main body portion in upright position in the form of a stable and stiffened merchandise magazine dispenser and .display stand.

It is a further object of my invention to form a merchandise magazine dispenser and display stand having one or more merchandise magazines for packaged merchandise provided with a oriepiece front or display main body formed from an integral blank and provided with a supplemental rear portion in such manner as to provide a pleasing and attractive magazine dispenser display which can be cheaply manufactured without waste of materials, packed and shipped fiat, easily assembled and loaded with packaged merchandise.

With these and other objects in View the invention consists in the construction and novel combinaticn and arrangement of parts, hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawing in reference to a specific embodiment thereof, and pointed out in the claims hereto appended, it being understood that various changes in the form, proportion and minor details of construction, within the scope of the claims, may be resorted to without departing fromthe spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention,

In the drawing:

Fig. l is a plan view of a unitary blank die-cut and die-scored to form the main body portion of a merchandise magazine dispenser constructed inaccordance with this invention.

Fig. 2 is a'plan view of a one-piece unitary blank die-cut and die-scored to form the supplemental .rear or-bellows portion of a dispenser constructed in accordance with this invention. I

Fig. 3 is a perspective of an assembled dis-. penser constructed in accordance with this invention, with thezpai ts in exploded relation for the sake of clarity.

Fig. 4 is a perspective of the dispenser illustrated'inFig. 3'which additionally illustrates a plurality of flat merchandise packages contained in one of the magazines.

Fig. 5 is a section taken approximately on the 7 line 55 of Fig. 4.

In these figures, a merchandise magazine dispenser I0 is formed from a main body portion l2 and a supplemental rear portion l4, both of tangular or square blank formed of cardboard or like stock, which, if it is desired, may be decoratively faced with aluminum or other metal foil or like surfacing. The blank l6 forming main body portion 12 normally will be die-cut on a series of susbtantially parallel longitudinal lines to form middle panels 22, side panels 24 and base panel :26. -Merchandise platform members 28 are hingedly connected to base panel 26 by score cutting as indicated at 20. At the top of middle panels 22 and side panels 24 are provided bridge members 22 having their longitudinal sides diecut as indicated at 24 and being hingedly connected to the middle panels 22 and to the side panels 24 by score cutting indicated as 36, and to the top panel 28 by score cutting indicated as 46. Con tlnuing downwardly from the top panel 38 and lying between the middle panels 22 and the side panels 24 are provided a plurality of rear merchandise retaining walls 42, which latter are hingedly connected to merchandise platforms 28 by being score cut therefrom as at 44. Referring particularly to Fig. 1, the merchandise platforms 28 are provided with rectangularly shaped tabs or tongues 46 by die-cutting the same from the lower parts of merchandise retaining walls 42. The main body blank I6 is so formed that the longitudinal measurements of the platforms 2!, not including the tongues 46, will be equal to that of bridge members 32. The panel portions 22 and 24 will ordinarily be constructed with wider dimensions than the connective bridges 32.

The supplemental rear portion l4, formed from integral blank l8, will ordinarily be score cut as at 46 to provide a plurality of longitudinal fold lines indicated at 56, to form a collapsible, generally bellows shaped, construction comprising forwardly facing U-shaped members 52 intermediate connective panels 54 and side flaps 56'. As indicated slots 56, conforming in size to the crosssection of tongues 46, will be die-cut in members 62 with marginal score cuts 60 extending slightly above slots 5! to provide flexible flap portions 62 to permit the easy ingress of tongues 46, and to give a positive snap action as the tongues 46 go into slots 66. Side flaps 56 of rear portion II will be adhesively connected to the side panels 24 of main body portion l2,.and connective panels 54, which will be approximately equal in width to connective middle bridge members 22, will be adhesively connected to the rear of middle panels 22. By this construction the parallel side walls 64 of rear portion I will form the side walls of the slotted merchandise magazines indicated as 66, which side walls will meet the middle and side panels 22 and 24 respectively, intermediate their side edges, thus providing marginal retaining flanges 62 for the packaged merchandise indicated as III, which will be slid down to rest securely upon platforms 28.

The-lower edge 12 of rear portion I 4 will lie in the same plane as the bottom edge 14 of base panel 26 of the main body portion l2, and the two together will operate as an easel to firmly maintain the merchandise dispenser unit in upright position, which normally will be vertical, but v which may be slanting if desired.

From the above description it will be recognized that a merchandise dispenser and display stand made in accordance with my invention is cheap and economical to fabricate from the two unitary blanks, easy to assemble in a factory and can be packed and shipped flatwise merely by collapsing the bellows-like rear portion l4 along the proper fold lines.

When the merchandise dispenser and display stand is received by the retail outl; i which it is to be utilized, it is set up into upright operative position merely by maintaining base panel 26 in fixed position and applying manual pressure downwardly and rearwardly upon top panel 26, whereupon bridge members 32 and platform members 28 may be swung downwardly from a vertical to a horizontal position, rotating ninety degrees upon their hinged connection to the panels 22 or 24 or to base panel 26, as the case may be. As the platform members 28 approach a horizontal position their tab or tongue members 46 will slip into slots 56, firmly locking the merchandise dispenser and display in an upright position, with the parts in fixed relation.

It will be recognized that refinements and modifications may be made in merchandise dispensers and displays which embody my invention, either in whole or in par, and that the construction described may be utilized to form single magazine dispensers, and that if desired the main body portion could be utilized without the rear body portion by providing alternate means for maintaining the stand in upright position, the side magazine walls not being necessary in certain instances; in particular it is here point .t that slots 58 in rear portion could be so ltioned that tongues 46 of platform members 22 would fit therein with the platforms 26 in a slanting or angulated position, namely not horizontal, thus allowing the packages of merchandise to will be further recognized that while the illustrated forms of the invention which I have de-.

scribed represent certain preferred embodiments, I do not wish to L .iit myself to the details as shown since it is obvious that the same may be widely varied without departing from the spirit of the invention as described and claimed in the appended claims.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

i. A flat-foldable' and collapsible merchandise dispenser and display stand having a slotted magazine for packaged merchandise which includes a main body portion die-cut and diescored from an integral, fiat blank and a foldable rear member connected to said main body portion and having portions forming the side walls of. said magazine, said main body portion when the dispenser is collapsed lying in a single plane and including a base panel, elongated front merchandise retaining panels connected thereto, a top panel, connective bridge members hingedly connected to said front panels and to said top panel, a downwardly extending rear wall member for said magazine forming a continuation of said top panel and a merchandise platform the longitudinal length of which is equal to said bridge members hingedly connected to said base panel and to the lower edge of said rear wall member.

2. A flat-foldable and collapsible merchandise dispenser and display stand having a slotted magazine for packaged merchandise which includes a main body portion die-cut and diescored from an integral, fiat blank and a foldable rear member connected to said main body portion and having portions forming the side walls of said magazine, said main body portion when the dispenser is collapsed lying in a single plane and including a base panel, elongated front merchandise retaining panels connected thereto, a top panel, connective bridge members hingedly connected to said front panels and to said top panel, a downwardly extending rear wall member for said magazine forming a continuation of said top panel and a merchandise platform the longitudinal length of which is equal to said bridge members hingedly connected to said base panel and to the lower edge of said rear wall member, said body portion when the dispenser is in upright position being arranged so that the front and base panels lie in a single plane and the top panel and rear wall member lie in a difierent butparallel plane, with the platform and connective bridge members lying in a substantially parallel plane generally transverse to the planes of said panels.

3. A structure as defined in claim 2 which further includes means to maintain the dispenser and display stand in upright position.

4. A flat-foldable and collapsible merchandise dispenser and display stand having a slotted magazine for packaged merchandise which includes a main body portion die-cut and die-scored from an integral flat blank, and a foldable rear member connected to said main body portion having parts forming the side walls of said magazine, the said main body portion including spaced elongated upwardly extending panels and a base panel connected thereto, all of said panels lying in the same plane, a top panel, a rear magazine wall forming a downwardly extending continuation of said top panel, a hat merchandise platform 7 all parts of the main body portion lie in a single plane when the dispenser and display stand is collapsed.

6. A structure asdefined in claim 4 wherein all parts of the main body portion lie in a single plane when the dispenser and display stand is collapsed, and abut one another so that the blank is die-scored and die-cut without substantial loss of material due to cut-outs.

'1. A fiat-foldable and collapsible merchandise dispenser and display stand having a plurality of slotted magazines for packaged merchandise -rear magazine walls forming downwardly extending continuations of said top panel, flat merchandise platform members hingedly connected to said base panel between said upwardly extending panels and also to the bottoms of said rear magazine walls, connective bridge members equal in length to said platform members hingedly connecting each of saidupwardiy extending panels and said top panel and lying in a plane parallel to the plane of said platforms which lie in a single plane, and means cooperative with means provided in said foldable member to lock and maintain the dispenser in upright position.

8-. A structure as defined in claim 7 wherein all parts of the main body portion lie in a single plane when the dispenser and display stand is collapsed.

9. A structure as defined in claim 7 wherein all parts of the main body portion lie in a single plane when the dispenser and display stand is top panel, a flat merchandise platform member hingedly connected to said base panel between said upwardly extending panels and also to the bottom of said rear magazine wall, connective bridge members equal in length to said platform 7 member hingedly connecting said upwardly extending panels and said top panel and lying in a plane parallel to the plane of said platform, and means for maintaining the dispenser and display stand in upright display position.

FREDERICK A. SUNDIRHAUI'. 

